Price Paid:  $750.00 from used; in mint cond.

Summary:
The positive reviews left me upset as this model was no longer in stores. I located a used one and bought it. My mains were a classic rare model of ARs, the AR 9lsi $2000 mslp. With two front firing 12" and two down firing inclosed 10" woofers powered by two Hafler 500s, bridged into mono, producing a measured 750 watts a side, left me incorrectly convinced I had plenty of bass. Now obiously I did ! Yet lots of reading about home theater requirements insisted on a sub. My budget left me looking at Vel. CT-150s because of Velodynes' credibility. If 15"s is good 18"s must be better. This sub has taught me alot about bass. When you hear a sub alone it doesn't sound loud or powerful. When we hear bass we are used to hearing loud levels of midrange. The low and ultra low freq.s feel as well as sound. So subs by themselves sound deceivingly low. Once with the other speakers, right away you will hear many parts of the music, before not available. Even with my systems ability to "rock the house" before I had the sub, I had to play music at such high levels as to only have lots of bass when "cranked". This sub gives me the bass even at low listning levels. This sub is fantastic. I've heard $5000 subs and double blind tests would most likely leave many trainded ears guessing. This model, still available used is a way to approach HGS size and sound without the heavy price tag. A post below down grades the amps' size. Remember to double the sound one must increase the wattage by a factor of 10x. So for $3000 you can get a 3000watt sub. I just attach a small house-hold fan to the cooling fins for those times when "long term sustained heavy imbardment sessions" are a must, this isn't nessecary but I feel cooling the amp eases the strain of heat. The amps ability to penitrate 20' of earth and 50' of house might be unwise for apartments and condos. Music or HT this sub is great.

Strengths:
Huge, heavy, loud, and well built.

Weaknesses:
The remote level adjustment is too narrow (the volume spectrum). Bass sources vary so much I couldn't get enough on some sorces and vice versa. I use an old receiver as a pre amp and adjust sub volume via the receivers remote.

Similar Products Used:
Concerts; front row dead center!

Price Paid:  $1075.00 from One Call

Summary:
I've had my Velodyne F-1800R for a couple of years now and it still impresses me.

With movies it's thunderous and powerful. You feel the effects as well as hear them. Eventhough it's rated at only 250 watts, I've never felt a need for more power.

With music its articulate and dynamic. You can hear textures and detail in the bass. I've heard cleaner bass only in subs that cost four or five times more. I did notice that when using "The Ultimate DVD's" rattle test, a slight dip in sound level is evident in the mid bass region; around 60-80hz. I bought an AMC 20 subwoofer to fill in where there was bass frequency loss, but traded it in for an NHT SA-W2i. The AMC was cleaner but the NHT was louder. I'm sure the bass suckout is due to my room setup but because of it's size I am limited in my ability to place the sub. However, the two subs together produce a smooth, clean, and flat response all the way down to about 18hz. It's nice. I've been able to hear detail in the bass instruments that was missing with previous subs.

I was very pleased with the Velodyne before adding a second sub, but I am extremely pleased with the sound produced by the duo.

Strengths:
Powerful, Clean, dynamic, deep bass, great price

Weaknesses:
Big and Heavy.

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne VA 1215; NHT SAW-2i and SA-W3, Sony; Audio Source, Yamaha

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from onecall

Summary:
This sub is a pretty good deal for an 18" sub. I have been using it for over a year. Beware that an 18" sub goes lower than any 10" or 12" could ever dream of. With that in mind make sure that everything is secured in your listening room. At the low frequencies this sub will shake the drywall, recessed lighting, doors, doorknobs, etc..... It is not as adept at reproducing some of the higher frequencies from say 60Hz-80Hz. For that reason I have another 12" sub to fill in the hole that I have at 60-80Hz. I also have set my main speakers (Klipsch RF-5) to large so that they too can fill in the holes. My main complaint about this sub is the underpowered amp. This amp is from the Velodynes 15" sub. The amp really struggles when pushed. I am at the point where I am considering purchasing the amp from Velodynes regular 18" sub (FSR-18????) as this amp really shouldn't be pushing that huge 18" woofer.
I will give it a 5 for value becuase it is an 18" sub for $1000. For overall I will give it a 3 because better subs can be had.

Strengths:
Price

Weaknesses:
amp

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne, Klipsch, Boston Acoustics

Price Paid:  $825.00 from ebay

Summary:
I needed a sub that could move a lot of air and would match my mains. I knew I wanted a velodyne because of the servo control and experience to listening to it in large rooms. I also wanted an 18" because of my room size (cathedral ceilings and open design of the house). I originally wanted the HGS but then found a deal on this "made for one-call" model. I got it because of the reviews posted here.

As for performance, you hear and feel the bass but don't hear where the subwoofer is. It is room shaking when needed and tasteful when expected. Not only am I yet to be disappointed with a velodyen product but this sub surpasses anything I could ever expect. If you can find it, get it. This is one heck of a sub.

Strengths:
Clean Present Bass. Blends amazingly with mains.

Weaknesses:
none.

Similar Products Used:
None

Price Paid:  $1100.00 from onecall.com

Summary:
I put this where I had a CT-150 and there was no comparison. The bass from this was so much cleaner. For the 1st time my bass frequency response measured flat and down to 20 Hz. I don't have much else to compare it to. I can live with this for quite a while or maybe forever unlike the CT-150 which I knew was not the end-all sub.
For music it makes bass drums sound as good as being there. Music is my 1st listening priority. I don't know if more power would result in more dynamice range/impact on movies or not. 4 stars overall, since I assume that the more expensive subs are better, but I have not heard them in my home. It is definitely a better value than the CT-150.
Equipment: NAD 512 CD Player, Transparent Premium Digital cable, Golden Theater GTX-1, Transparent Music Link interconnects, Monarchy SE-100 deluxe mono blocks, Nordost Solar Winds shotgunned to Magnepan MMGs. B&W, NAD, DHLabs on rear speakers, no center channel.

Strengths:
Clean, low, accurate bass.

Weaknesses:
None that I know of; I don't know what more power would do for it.

Similar Products Used:
Velodyne CT-120, CT-150